Topic: greenhouse gases

This working paper focuses primarily on evaluating and reducing upstream methane emissions in the natural gas sector. We outline a number of state and federal policies and industry best practices to cost-effectively reduce fugitive methane emissions.

This report examines opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States through actions taken at the federal and state levels without the need for new legislation from the U.S. Congress. It can serve as a road map for action by providing both a legal and technical analysis of these opportunities.

Domestic legislation, the Climate Change Act 2008, commits the United Kingdom to an 80 percent emission reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. The legislation also mandates a system of five-year carbon budgets to progress toward that target.

This report summarizes key UK policies already enacted and in development that are likely to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the country, discusses the implications of the current policy scenario for the country’s GHG trajectory, and identifies issues to watch going forward. Our analysis finds that if future carbon budgets are to be met, progress in emission reductions must accelerate.

This report draws on projections from the “Energy Roadmap 2050” to assess whether the European Union is on track to reach its greenhouse gas (GHG), renewable energy, and energy efficiency targets. We find that the EU is on track to surpass its 2020 GHG reduction and renewable energy targets based on current policies, but that additional measures will be required to meet the 2020 energy-efficiency target and the 2050 GHG-reduction goal.

In the context of the U.S. goal to achieve “in the range of a 17 percent emission reduction by 2020 compared with 2005 levels,” this report examines key existing and emerging federal policies that are likely to reduce GHG emissions in the United States. U.S. government GHG projections suggest that additional policy action is likely to be necessary in order to achieve the president’s GHG reduction target and continue significant emissions reductions after 2020.